


Ajar

by meggiewrites



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Benni being a Supportive Boyfriend, Benni being a Supportive Friend, Boys In Love, Established Relationship, FC Bayern München, FC Schalke 04, Fluff, Friendship, German National Team, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Max and David make a cameo appearance, What is English Punctuation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10096769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggiewrites/pseuds/meggiewrites
Summary: Longing is a strange thing. It’s not tangible, as it is a feeling that is formed around a missing presence, not a present one. Benedikt didn’t realize how much he’d grown used to Mats as a constant in his daily life until a few weeks after it got taken away from him.Following a gut instinct, he decides to drive to Munich – and when he ends up on someone else's doorstep, he makes a unanticipated discovery.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first piece I've written and finished in over two years, and I've got a handful of people to thank for that: 
> 
> Jay for the continuous support and for becoming such a dear friend over the past few months. Our conversations are the trigger for so many great plot ideas and little headcanons, I wouldn't know what to do without them anymore.
> 
> Maike for providing me with Hömmels almost every day since the beginning of December, and our hilarious and profound talks that come with it – I sincerely appreciate them. (And also for inviting me for lunch that one time)
> 
> Leslie for beta-ing this for me and supporting me in my writing and my shipping even though she doesn't really know anything about this fandom. You're an absolute treasure.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Writing fiction about real people is a tricky thing, but just to be safe I want to clarify that all this comes from my mind and has no relation to reality - all relationships and described scenes are purely fictional, and I don't claim to know anything about the boys' personal lives.
> 
> Also, for the sake of harmony (because I didn't mention it in the fic itself):
> 
> – In this verse, Thomas and Lisa have split up amicably earlier that year. They're still good friends; she's probably the one who set him up with Manu.  
> – Manu only has publicity girlfriends. So no cheating going on there either.

Longing is a strange thing. It’s not tangible, as it is a feeling that is formed around a missing presence, not a present one. Benedikt didn’t realize how much he’d grown used to Mats as a constant in his daily life until a few weeks after it got taken away from him.

They’d made the decision together, since Mats knew that it would have an impact on his boyfriend’s life as well. And Benni of course knew that this would be a good move for his partner’s career, and how much his heart craved for the city he viewed as his hometown still. He also knew that Mats wouldn’t leave until Benedikt himself let him go.

They didn’t terminate their relationship, of course not. After seven years, the way they smiled at each other was still gentle, their kisses familiar but still a novelty every time their lips touch, their passion a star that only burns brighter with time. They both knew that the transfer would be a hardship, a test of trust between the two of them, and actually, it was Benni who had to talk Mats through going through with it, not the other way ‘round. Really, he was nothing if not the perfect supportive boyfriend. It’d be hard, sure, but they’ve spent time apart before, were used to sleeping in different hotels at night and going on holidays with Cathy and Lisa instead of each other.

But Benni didn’t account for how much he’d missed the little things, the little holes in his daily life that Mats left behind when he packed his bags and moved back to Munich.

They’d never officially shared a living space; that’d be too obvious, too easy for the media to discover. Officially, Mats lived with Cathy in a stylish modern apartment in Dortmund while Benni and Lisa inhabit a cosy family home in Düsseldorf. Unofficially, the apartment was Cathy’s, Lisa shares a flat with her best friend, and Mats lived with Benni in the house the other supposedly shared with his wife. They switched it around sometimes, whenever it was needed or whenever one or both of the boys were away, but nevertheless, during the week, Benni had gotten used to waking up with one of Mats’ deadweight arms slumped over his side.

He knew from the beginning that sleeping alone would be difficult - and it is. But now it is two weeks that Mats’ been away and Benni would never have guessed that he’d miss the way Mats almost falls over the doorframe every morning, eyes squinted together because he isn’t wearing his glasses or contacts. Or the way he always forgets to bring a spoon to put sugar in his coffee, and usually pouted until Benni’d get up and bring him one.

He wasn’t prepared to miss the small moments, the quirky habits, the noises that would fill the big house with life.

All in all, Benni misses Mats - much more than he thought he would. Now, the easiest thing to do would be to call him, but he knows that Mats had an interview scheduled for the afternoon and wanted to go out with his brother and his friends later in the evening. (He already knew the text he’d sent him earlier this day by heart, that’s how many time he’d read it, holding onto every word.)

 

Schalke has a short training session scheduled that afternoon, and it takes his mind off Mats for a while, but the longing crawling under his skin flares up with a vengeance when Max jokingly asks how he was coping without the former queen bee around. The young forward looks apologetic after he saw Benni’s face fall, but that doesn’t make the latter feel much better.

After that, Benni doesn’t really know how he ended up on the highway going out of the city, still in Schalke sweatpants and a hoodie, hair still damp from the shower he took back at the training grounds. For a second he considers taking the next exit and turning back around, knowing that this is a spectacularly stupid idea, but he realizes that he’s already made his decision before even passing the sign. With a sigh, he runs a hand through his sparse hair, leaving wet trails on his fingers, and turns on the radio.

The drive simultaneously seems to last forever and to take no time at all. At some point he stops at a service station, buying a sandwich and a bottle of still water before eating it in the parking lot, leaning against the hood of his car. He doesn’t even waste a thought on the crazy story the clerk could sell about him before getting back on the road: Schalke captain Benedikt Höwedes on his way on the A3 looking slightly out of it, still in his training gear.

The sun sets, the world turns dark around him. The music is blaring in his eardrums when he leaves the highway, he doesn’t even turn it down as he follows the GPS’ directions to Mats’ new address. When he stops in front of a modern, two-story home in a well-off neighbourhood at the edge of Munich, the remaining silence sends a blazing cry through his mind.

He gets out of the car, only now realizing how difficult it is to keep his eyes open, flinching at the banging noise that results when he slams the car door shut.  
Throwing a cautious look over his shoulder, he checks if he woke anyone up, if any of the dark windows bloom bright again. They stay dark. Somewhere he hears a cat’s cry. As if suddenly coming back to life, Benni wants to check his watch, cursing softly when he notices the bare wrist – it must still be in his training bag, together with the change of clothes he hasn’t put on. He scrambles for his phone, fishing it out of his pocket after a considerable struggle. The sudden brightness of the screen shortly blinds him as he activates it, and he stops short when his eyes focus on the time staring back at him.

1:12 am. Way too late to be knocking on anyone’s door on a normal Tuesday evening, even if that someone is his boyfriend. Only now he slowly registers that he’s actually just driven six hours and that he’s exhausted and probably slightly out if his mind. He realizes that the Bayern-Schalke game is in a couple weeks and they even had plans to meet up before that and surely he could have made it another couple days? Heck, what was he thinking – nothing, probably – driving down here, bothering Mats with his clinginess. Probably he doesn’t even want to see him, have Benni wake him up in the middle of the night. And Cathy, too, if he rung the doorbell now, he’d disturb her sleep as well – and an pissed off Cathy is not something anyone wants to be confronted with. No, he couldn’t wake them, not right now. 

He’s stopped in front of the high fence surrounding the property, shielding it from curious fans and nosy paps. There is no name tag next to the buzzer, but the smiley someone has drawn next to it, seemingly out of place and mismatched to the sleek exterior of the house, screams Mats. Something in Benni’s gut twists painfully, and he just barely manages to force himself to turn around and walk back to his car before he does something stupid.

Once he settled back into the driver’s seat it comes to him that he’d never be able to drive back to the Ruhrpott. His hands are trembling slightly, and his eyes are threatening to fall shut at any moment – if he drove in that state he’d be lucky if he even made it to the highway without provoking an accident. Sleeping in is car is also not an option, as his back is already starting to hurt from sitting in the same position for several hours. Neither is spending the night at a hotel - there might be general discretion when it comes to the handling of celebrities (to this day he still cringes at the thought of people putting him in that box) but he doesn’t want to risk having his dishevelled picture all over the papers the next day.

So he sits there, hands gripping the steering wheel, for quite a while, at a loss for what to do, until he recalls that he actually knows someone else in this godforsaken city. He blames it on the fact that he’s half asleep, because how else could he justify almost forgetting about one of his closest friends.

Manuel’s flat is close to the city centre, his new mansion a 45 minute drive away. When Benni turns the key in the ignition, he prays that Manu is currently staying at the former (If he remembers correctly, the house isn’t entirely finished yet. Also, Manuel is the opposite of a morning person, and he counts on the fact that the elder would rather avoid getting up an hour earlier when he has to be at training at 9am.)

It takes him longer than he’d thought to get to the building where Manu’s renting the penthouse apartment; a road closed due to construction and several one-way streets block his path.

He’s actually close to falling asleep when he finally stumbles out of his car, his scarf getting stuck in the door when he slams it shut.  
It’s a miracle that he makes it up the few steps to the big entrance door. Hesitating for a few moments, he considers writing Manu a text beforehand, until he remembers that the older man always turns his phone off when he sleeps, so, determined, he rings the doorbell.

After two minutes or so, he’s almost given up, resigned to turn on his heel and get a hotel room after all, but just as he is ready to do so, the intercom buzzes, indicating that he’s been let in. 

The apartment building doesn’t have an elevator, something Manuel always claims is good for his fitness, but right then Benni really wishes he wouldn’t have to walk up several flights of stairs. When he finally reaches the sixth floor, he’s dead on his feet. So, it’s not surprising it takes him a moment until for his bleary eyes to notice that it isn’t Manu who’s leaning against the open apartment door.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” The voice decidedly doesn’t belong to Manuel either, as it is distinctly Bavarian and more than slightly reproachful - two things the goalkeeper has never really gotten a hang of.

“Thomas?” he manages to utter, quite proud that his voice doesn’t fail him right then.

“No, Santa Claus. Of course it’s me” Thomas says with a yawn, wearing a shirt that seems at least three sizes too big on him, slipping off his shoulder. “I’d ask what you’re doing here but considering you look like you’ll drop dead any minute and I’d really love to get back to bed, I should probably just let you in.”

With that he turns, heading back into the flat.  
Benni, slightly bewildered, just barely manages to slip out of his shoes and shuffles after Thomas just as the other throws a look over his shoulder.

“The bedroom on the left is free, the bed should be made.” He runs a hand through his messy curls, “Well, I trust you to know your way around, so help yourself if you need anything. I’m sure our host has nothing against it”, he adds with a grin.

Benni blinks, nodding slowly.

“Anyway” Thomas continues, “we’ve got training in the morning, but I hope you’ll stick around for breakfast? Even if there’s only coffee and cereal.”

“Sure. I” Benni falters, Thomas giving him a quizzical look, “I should go see Mats anyway, so maybe I can catch him before the training?”

Thomas lets out an amused chuckle, forgetting that he’s supposed to he grumpy “So you aren’t here for me or Manu, but your curly-haired lover! Shocking, I am truly offended.”

Benni grins, though that already feels like too much effort for his tired body.

Thomas affectionately pats his shoulder, flashing him a crooked smile. “Good night, old friend. Sleep well.”

And that’s that.

When Benni turns to the guest bedroom, he only sees Thomas closing the door behind him. It isn’t the first time Benni spends the night at Manu’s and the room looks as minimalistic as it had last time; Manu has never wasted his energy on decorating the place, saving that particular effort for his house at the Tegernsee. Benni thinks the curtains are new, but in the dim lighting he’s unable to make out if they are white or a pale shade of yellow.

As promised, the bed is made, and after only swiftly taking off his hoodie and sweatpants and just dumping his training bag on the floor, he lets himself fall into feathery heaven, barely being able to ponder his thoughts any more before his dreams overtake him.

 

He wakes up early, the room still clouded with half-light, and for the first few seconds he feels disorientated – it takes a moment for the events of the evening to rush back to him. How he’s missed Mats like he was missing a limb and all the stolen moments, chasing down the highway like a headless chicken, standing in front of Mats’ house, deciding to go to Manu’s, the short moment of fear when he thought that no one was home, Thomas opening the door for him. It’s a lot, and he can already feel his temples starting to throb – the gravity of how stupid it was to drive halfway through the country at that time of the day only just settling – until he notices that one point on this list doesn’t add up.

Thomas. What is Thomas even doing at Manu’s place? Of course they are friends, but as far as he knows Thomas owns a flat only a few minutes away by foot, so why not return home to your own bed instead of occupying the guest room?

The guest bedroom. Which Benni himself slept in. The gears in his head start wheeling faster as he recalls which door Thomas disappeared behind at night, a sneaking suspicion arousing. Hastily he gets out of bed, rummaging through his bag to find a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. (The shirt is slightly too big on his frame – it belongs to Mats, who left a few of them for him to wear when he was gone.)

He pays attention to open the door quietly – while Manuel usually sleeps like a bear during hibernation, Thomas is an early riser and has really good ears on top of that. He tip-toes through the hallway to discover that he was lucky –Manu’s bedroom door is propped up and he manages to slip through without making any noise.

Benni stops short at the sight that greets him, a smile creeping onto his lips.

There they are, peacefully slumbering next to each other, Thomas having an arm slung around Manu’s waist in some weird misshapen attempt at spooning, their calves and feet sticking out from underneath the sheets, legs tangled up.

Warmth starts pooling in Benni’s stomach, a fondness growing from his heart and spreading through his entire body, because this is Manuel lying here with Thomas. Manuel, who’s always put football first and his love life last, who’s refused to get into an actual relationship, who even denied himself falling in love because he knew about the storm crashing down on him had it become known that Manuel Neuer, golden boy of Germany, the best goalkeeper in the world, doesn’t particularly care for women.

Manu, who finally seems to have found a place in the arms of someone who Benni knows loves him dearly, although until a few moments ago, he hasn’t guessed that Thomas’ love for him was anything but platonic.

Benni doesn’t really know how long he’s been standing there, looking down at the sleeping couple – are they a couple? – and he startles when Thomas suddenly shifts, moving closer to Manu, cuddling into him from behind. Letting out a breath he doesn’t know he’s been holding, he decides to leave before he’s discoverd and quietly sneaks back out of the room.

For a minute or so he stands in the middle of the hallway, looking like a lost sheep, but then opts to relocate to the kitchen. It’s a beautiful room, soaked in morning light, with a big wooden table in the middle, a few potted herbs on the windowsill. The coffee machine is too large to miss, too, and after rummaging through the drawers a bit – most of them half empty, the others a mess – he even finds the capsules that go with it.

The noise the machine makes cuts through the peacefulness of the morning like a saw, and Benni’s not even surprised that when he picks up his cup of freshly brewed coffee, he can hear footsteps approaching.

It’s Manuel, not Thomas, who appears in the doorway, drowsily shuffling over to where Benni is leaning against the kitchen counter. He’s dressed in wrinkled pyjama bottoms and a sleeveless undershirt, his short hair sticking out at odd angles, eyes squinted together. But decidedly the most prominent thing about his appearance are the two blooming hickeys on his neck.

“Good morning!” Benni chirps, hiding his grin behind his coffee mug, but unable to resist the urge of suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

Manu sends him a quizzical glance, and when Benni points to his neck, his big hand shoots up to his neck, flinching when the fingers ghost over the bruises.

Benni giggles, only getting a mumbled “Shut up” in return, Manu turning his head away, trying in vain to hide the blush flaring up on his cheeks.

He makes himself a coffee too, joining Benni at the counter. For a while they don’t move at all, a companionable silence only disrupted be one of them occasionally taking a sip of their coffee.  
In the end it’s Benni who breaks it. “I am so happy for you, you know?”

Manu huffs, once again lifting his mug to his lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Just as Benni wants to open his mouth to give him a cheeky reply, he’s interrupted by Thomas. There is a bounce in the forward’s steps and a grin on his lips, and he looks disgustingly cheerful for someone who only got approximately five hours of sleep. And before either of the kitchen’s occupants know it, he’s stepped up to Manu’s side and pressed a kiss on the goalkeeper’s stubbly cheek, then continues to snatch the coffee cup out of his hands, giving them a wink and strutting back out the door.

Manuel blinks, dumbfounded, his hands still looking like they’re clutching an invisible cup, and Benni just barks out a laugh, snorting and almost choking on his coffee.

“So you don’t know what I’m talking about?”

And this time, Manu cannot hide the smile lighting up his features.

 

All three of them end up at the kitchen table about half an hour later, a bowl filled to the brim with cereal and fruit in front of each of them. It’s strange, because nothing has changed at all, except that Thomas and Manu’s shoulders keep touching because they’re sitting closer together and whenever it happens Manu ducks his head and his cheeks flush slightly while Thomas’ grin just grows even wider.

They’re fully engrossed in a conversation about their respective summer holidays when Benni feels his phone vibrating against his leg. He fumbles for it in his pocket, feeling a smile tugging at his lips when he reads the notification, quickly unlocking it while the phone keeps happily buzzing. When he realizes the messages are only the last three in a row of texts, he once again curses the notification system for never working properly when it is actually needed.

_Mats: Are you awake_

_Mats: You haven’t replied to my messages since yesterday around lunchtime is everything alright?_

_Mats: Bene I’m worried answer me!!_

_Mats: Benedikt Höwedes will you answer!!!!_

Benni grins and something in his stomach starts doing somersaults. He hears Manu snort and Thomas ask, “Is that Mats? Tell him he still owns me a pint from last Friday, that cheating little fuck!”

He ignores them.

_Stop worrying, you’ll get wrinkles._

_Mats: Excuse me, who’s the one losing his hair?!_

_Mats: Where are you why didn’t you answer your phone??_

_Don’t freak out. I’m here._

_Mats: Here, where???_

_Munich. At Manu’s place, actually._

_Mats: ?????_

He sighs, and both Thomas and Manu look at him expectantly. He starts typing, trying to mold his motivation into a few short sentences, stops, then deletes it again.

_Can we discuss this later? I’m coming to your training, I’ll try to be there a bit early._

_Mats: Okay. Love youu._

_Mats: I can’t wait to see you <3_

 

Manu catches him in the hallway when Thomas is running around gathering up his belongings (“I don’t know how he manages to clutter them all over my apartment – he’s only been here since yesterday afternoon!”)

“Is everything alright with you and Mats?” He looks concerned, eyebrows furrowed, because he very well knows that Benni wouldn’t just arrive in Munich in the middle of the night and at turn up at his doorstep instead of Mats’.

Benni heaves out a soft sigh, then looks at his friend with a crooked smile.

“I was homesick.”

Manu looks confused only for a second, then nods as his eyes catch a glimpse of Thomas hurrying about. “Home is where the heart is. Yeah, I get you.”

“Is it serious? You and Thomas?” Benni adds after the other tilts his head questioningly.

Another sigh. “I guess so. We haven’t really, y’know. Talked about it. But. I hope so.” He fiddles with the hem of his baggy jumper, his voice so faint it’s almost a whisper when he continues, “I really like him a lot.”

Benni wraps a hand around his biceps, softly squeezing it. “I hope so, too. You deserve it.”

The smile he gets in return is so unlike the proud, stoic, world-class goalkeeper and so much like the shy, gentle boy from Gelsenkirchen that it almost feels like they’ve been transported back in time. (Sometimes it’s too easy to forget that they’re the same person.)

 

Manu asks if he wants him to ride with him afterwards, when they're getting ready to leave, but Benni just shakes his head, putting on a grin and nodding in Thomas’ direction, who’s leaning against his car, shades on, toothy smirk firmly in place. “Your boyfriend is waiting.”

“He’s not my–” Manu starts but shuts up when Benni raises a single eyebrow “Yeah, alright. And you’re sure you’re fine?”

“Honestly, Manuel” Benni rolls his eyes – and they call him a mother hen.

The other raises his hands in surrender, shooting him one last semi-concerned glance before heading over to Thomas. The Bavarian promptly catches Manu’s hands in his, pulling him towards him and Manu melts into him, pecking him on the lips.

Benni is glad they’re still inside the garage, knowing that even here they shouldn’t be this careless; but then he remembers the magnetic pull of new love and how hard it is to keep his hands off Mats even now.

They oddly fit together, the two of them, with all their similarities and differences. (The lanky, talkative forward and the tall, introverted goalkeeper, one of them from the countryside, the other from the city. Two leaders when it comes to football, and two good friends, the kind you have to try never to lose once you found them.)

He smiles, watching as they get into the car, giggling, their eyes never leaving the other.

 

As Thomas and Manu drive ahead, Benni following a few meters behind, the headlights of the black Audi disappearing in the sea of traffic, the novelty about his friends being happy together decreases as quickly as they leave his sight. One arm propped up on the steering wheel, fingers scratching his beard, the thoughts that drove him to his friend’s place in the first place catch back up to him, no matter how hard he’s tried to push them at the back of his mind.

He doesn’t really want to speculate what Mats will think about his completely spontaneous and more than slightly ridiculous action; if he will be happy to see him, surprised, confused. In all honesty all he can think about is how he will see him again in a short while, that he’ll be able to run his hands through the black curls he adores so much, to thread their fingers together, maybe even to press a kiss on his forbidden lips. Hear his voice, his laugh, his incessant chattering.

He hasn’t realized that missing someone doesn’t get better when you know you’re going to see them again soon.

By the time they reach the parking lot at Säbener Straße he’s almost chewed through all his nails in anticipation, a bad habit from his youth that often makes an appearance when he’s nervous or excited. At that moment, he’s both.

He parks his car next to Thomas’, who’s already standing close to the entrance, joking around with David Alaba, Manuel hanging about a few meters to the left, seemingly disinterested in their conversation, scrolling through his phone, but Benni can see him stealing glances at Thomas’ direction whenever he thinks no one’s looking.

He grins – it’s going to be fun to see them dance around each other in the next few months, careful to avoid suspicious touches and loving glances – until they get a hang of how to handle this kind of relationship.

He almost jumps when somebody taps his shoulder from behind, but the adrenaline leaves his body and is replaced by endorphins quickly as he recognizes the arms spinning him around and wrapping him up in a welcoming hug. He melts into it with a sigh, allowing himself to bury his face in Mats’ neck for a second, breathing in the familiar scent.

“Hey Bene” Mats mumbles into his hair, his finger ghosting over Benni’s back as he untangles them.

Benni tucks his hands in his pockets, not trusting them to not grab for Mats again, not able to stop himself from smiling brightly at his other half, elated to see that very expression is returned from the dark-haired defender.

As it happens so often, they get lost in each other’s eyes for a while, Mats being the first one to interrupt their staring, curtly nodding at where the others were already disappearing through the double doors, gently tugging Benni along by his sleeve. Once they are inside, he leads him into a small meeting room, promptly pulling him back into his arms as soon as the door shuts behind them, letting his fingers wander over Benni’s firm chest.

“So. What have you got to say for yourself, making your poor boyfriend sick with worry and driving halfway through the country in the middle of the night, hmm?”

A shrug is the only answer he gets, followed by a gentle peck on the mouth. Not that Mats would be easily distracted like that, but now that he has him here, it seems daunting to explain his temporary foolishness. Stupid to not try kiss the worry right off his lips.

Mats pulls away, and as he looks him in the eyes he can see the questions, the Benedikt-Höwedes-you-better-tell-me-what’s-going-on-right-now-or-I’ll-be-very-cross-with-you.

Benni huffs, freeing himself from the embrace, but Mats catches him before he can escape, tugging him back in.

“C’mon, you can tell me.”

Benni doesn’t meet his eyes, looking down at his feet instead. There’s a stain on his left shoe, looking out of place on the stark white of the fabric.

“It’s silly.”

Mats looks at him expectantly.

“ _Ich hatte Sehnsucht_. I know it’s stupid, I knew I’d see you next week…“ – he broke off.

Mats blinked, then running a hand through his already messy hair, after a few painful seconds, breaking out into heartfelt laughter. For a second Benni felt a sting, even though he knew that Mats would never laugh at him – the possibility of not being taken seriously still affecting him. But Mats just lets out final chuckle, firmly taking both of Benni’s hands in his.

“Benni. Bene. My love. Did you really think you were the only one?”

He lays one hand on each side of his face, a smile tugging at his lips, bringing their mouths together again and again, rubbing his nose against Benni’s, pecking his cheeks, eyebrows, nose and his mouth again until both of them are grinning like fools and the dread has long been replaced by the bubbly feeling of mischievous smiles and adoring looks.

“I miss you too, you doofus! Every single day - hell, every hour! - I wonder if I’ve made the right decision. But doubting it doesn’t actually help anyone, especially not you. And you know I’ll never stop loving you and I know that you won’t stop loving me. We’re always going to yearn for each other when we’re apart. But that’s exactly the reason why we’ll always find back together.” He thumbs over Benni’s cheeks gently. “Alright?”

“Alright.”

“Good. Now what do you think, will you be my trophy wife and watch the training? God knows Cathy’s shit at that, too busy, that woman.”

Benni chuckles, pressing a final kiss Mats’ lips, feeling him grin into it, and that’s really all he needs for knowing that everything is gonna be alright.

 

Quite a few people shoot them curious looks when they walk through the training facilities, exchanging anecdotes from the past weeks, Mats wildly gesticulating, Benni giggling at his boyfriend’s antics.

But not caring about what people thought of them had become a speciality of theirs over the years. And, well, at least they got something to laugh about when Mats almost tumbles over his own feet when Benni whispers in his ear what he learned at Manu’s earlier this morning.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> _I write FICTION about real people. None of this is intended to harm them or their reputation in any way_
> 
>  
> 
> Please leave kudos and maybe a comment if you liked it! | [tumblr](http://manuelmueller.tumblr.com/)


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